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Kuragow
''“The Splugorth didn’t waste time when it came to abusing their new acquisitions on Kuragow. Millions of the locals got worked over by the Shakdan biowizards and Kittani scientists prior to being shipped offworld back to the Splugorth market worlds. It was a real health crisis for a while after we stomped out the minions; we had to cut, amputate, rebuild, and hold the new hands of hundreds of thousands of locals as they tried to cope with their new existences. Then we had to deal with getting them back into societies that in many cases no longer existed. '' ''The locals speak of becoming bionic as the ‘Gilding’, maybe because we use a lot of the local gold, silver, and chromium in on-site produced bionic components. Some treat the process almost like a gift from the gods, while others may as well call it the ‘Gelding’...there’s still a lot of suspicion and apprehension about cyborgs on Kuragow. Then there are the Gilded; a lot of them are released back into the world and they try to go back to their old lives only to find people have moved on, or, more often than not, their old communities and everybody in them have been destroyed, lost, or scattered to the winds. Most of them sim''ply find it easier to let go of their pasts, lose their cultural, and sometimes personal, identities and join Clan Megalith.” ---Clan Megalith work section chief, in an interview with a Wayfinder anthropologist, Kuragow. Shemarrian Worlds: Kuragow Clan Megalith Thundercloud Galaxy History Kuragow is a terrestrial world in the Creche Clouds, coreward of Splugorth territory. Earth-like and inviting, Kuragow seems to have been re-seeded with new life after the Great Extinction of the War Against the Dominators. Whoever did the re-settling is unknown, but they seem to have favored what is called a ‘Palladium-mix’ by some scholastic circles, dropping a variety of humanoid lifeforms on Kuragow, from cultures in an early iron-age phase of development. The new colonists were subsequently left to their own devices, developing as they would. Space Invaders Civlization would proceed in fits and starts until they had reached a steam age/early electrical state of technological advancement when they made their first galactic contact. Unfortunately, it was with the Splugorth, who were attracted to Kuragow’s hospitable environment and found the primitive locals to be a welcome bonus. Almost overnight, centuries of social and technological progress were overturned as the Splugorth announced their presence with violence. After destroying several cities outright, butchering the armies hastily raised to oppose them, and severing communications and travel networks as shows of force, the Splugorth Minions settled in to start harvesting the locals. Those nations they didn’t outright occupy were given the order to pay tribute in materials and slaves for the privilege of remaining ‘free’ for a bit longer, though it was obvious that the alien invaders meant eventually to possess ALL of the world. Still, with no other choices, most Kuragowan nations acceded to the Splugorth demands. So assured of the cooperation of their new acquisitions, the Splugorth Minions settled in to what promised to be a profitable new source of wealth in their new Thundercloud possession. Liberation Thus, the Splugorth were VERY surprised when they in turn were attacked from space, this time by a new group they’d never heard of, Clan Megalith. Flush from obliterating several large Splugorth scouting expeditions elsewhere in the Creche Clouds, Clan Megalith’s fearsome war machines now descended from the skies to sow havoc and reap destruction upon the Splugorth. Turnabout being fair play, so sudden and brutal was this second assault, that the Splugorth occupation force was almost entirely obliterated, and their space capability and communications destroyed outright. Once the shooting stopped, and Minion bodies stopped raining down in pieces, the Megalithians turned their attention to the matter of the natives. After no small amount of tension and trepidation, the Megalithians managed to convince the cowed Kuragowans that they had not simply swapped one set of brutal alien overlords for a new equally terrible ones (given the cultural upheaval to follow, though, some of the locals might argue that would still turn out to be the case). Present Today, Kuragow is a world in transition, the Kuragowan nations trying to acquire and adjust to the new technologies and new realities imposed upon them. Infusions of new knowledge and revelations of alien new ideas, including the existence of magic, and technologies that may as well BE magic, have shaken the old traditions and institutions to the core, and to implosion. Old religions have fallen and new schools of thought have rushed in, institutions of reason have been cast down in some places and new superstitions arisen to take their place. Old regimes are in the process of collapsing, with new governments emerging based on the new models introduced by their Clan Megalith saviors. Some nations struggle to retain their identities, and try to adapt the new technologies on their terms, while others, virtually extinguished by the Splugorth, have become Megalithians in all but name. Some kingdoms, such as Vann-Chalese, were reduced to a shadow of their former selves, and have outright become part of Clan Megalith, going so far as becoming almost entirely cyborg, and rebuilding their city-seats as mechano-arks like Clan Megalith’s. Other kingdoms have attempted to withdraw entirely from contact with others, fearful of the changes sweeping their planet. Cults idolizing the Megallithians (and by extension, Shemarrians), cyborg conversion, and a new age of Changes, or castigating the outsiders as heavenly trials, have sprung up all over the planet. Clan Megalith is supervising the reconstruction of Kuragow into a part of their Clan, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before Desslyth’s Minions again come calling, looking to avenge their lost fleet and reclaim Kuragow. Clan Megalith has recently allowed other Shemarrians to visit Kuragow, perhaps to garner interest in helping defend the planet. There are rumors that the Splugorth had found traces of Ancient artiftacts on Kuragow, and were investigating various sites where ‘sacred relics’ were to be found, possibly dating back to the settlement of the planet or even before. Clan Megalith has not yet had any opportunity to investigate these rumors themselves, but a few Kuragowan governments and cults have set out to find them, in hopes of finding something to bolster the planet’s fortunes or establish themselves as powers to be reckoned with in the face of the new offworld realities. Katen System Planets Arandar Terrestrial. Giant Venus-style ‘hot rock’, Aranadar was similarly regarded as a ‘romantic’ celestial body by the Kuragowans, until fairly recently. Arandar MIGHT be terraformable, although its high gravity would still make settlement problematic. Still, a number of specialist Clan Megalith gi-bots have been surveying the planet for exploitable resources. Serphus Planetesmial/Dwarf Planet. This Pluto-sized world is being developed as a Clan Megalith naval base. Serphus describes a rather fast orbit about Katen, and its name means ‘fast flier’ in the scientific language of Kuragow. Kuragow Terrestrial. System lifeworld Kitipau Gas Giant. Without any significant moons of note, Kittipau is of little interest to the location- and resource-seeking Megalithians, so, aside from a few cursory probes sent to examine it, the gas giant has been left alone. Yegow Gas Giant. Yegow also lacks significant moons of any size, but its large rings suggest its role of ‘sweeping’ the system of space junk that would threaten the inner worlds. Kuragow Temperature Temperate, shading towards tropical-warm. The planet has small ice caps (surrounded by deep swamps). Unusual/Special Features Strange Orbit Kuragow’s orbital track is angled nearly 50 degrees off the average ecliptic of the rest of the system. Moons Kuragow has 13 moons, most of which are small captured asteroids. The largest three moons average 40, 30, and 15 miles in diameter respectively. In the past, the orbital positions of these moons played a large role in most of Kuragowan civilization’s cosmology and astrology. Today, many of them have been seeded by Clan Megalith as part of the planet’s new space defense system. Terrain Exotic. Besides a full range of terrain types, including large grasslands, Kuragow possesses some rather spectacular crystalline geological formations, and outcroppings of gold, quartz, and other minerals. Hydrosphere Balanced. Kuragow possesses a number of Mediterranean-sized seas that tip the balance of water coverage slightly over 60%. Biosphere Dense. Kuragow possesses a rich ecosystem, including obviously introduced species. The Splugorth also began bringing in their own animals and plants, some of which have begun posing a problem to the established ecosystem. Civilization Settled. Prior to the Splugorth invasion, Kuragow was home to some 700 million people. Post-liberation, that number is closer to 380 million. Nearly 500,000 Clan Megalithians are also currently in residence, in over a dozen mechano-arks and a mobile space arcology, supervising the construction of orbital defenses and the education of the Kuragowans into a member-state of their clan. Population Mixed; Humans make up nearly 60% of the population, followed by fairly even percentages of Wulfen, Minotaurs, Dwarves, and Elves. In the aftermath of the Splugorth occupation, some 20% of the survivors have required surgical reconstruction of one sort or another (obvious cybernetic or bionic reconstruction being locally known as ‘gilding’), and another 5% still bear the marks of biowizardry (bioborg construction, parasite infestation, or symbiote implantation). Technology Kuragow was in its Steam Age, with early industrial applications of electricity (telegraphs, electric lighting) when the Splugorth hit. Under Clan Megalith’s tutelage, the planet is being bootstrapped into Megadamage Age technology, using Megalithian-gifted technology and scavenged Splugorth equipment. Economy Agrarian, with a growing industrial component. Wealth Would be Rich, but the Splugorth rapine strip mining of the planet’s resources, cultures, and population has reduced them to Poor, verging on Impoverished but for Clan Megalith intervention. If Clan Megalith can successfully ease Kuragow into its fold, the planet is likely to rise to Rich, potentially Wealthy, status. Government Fractured; most Kuragowan governments pre-Splugorth were Aristocractic (Strongman in the Minotaur communities). Post-Liberation, only a handful of aristocracies have survived (and it’s noteworthy that those tend to be matriarchal). Several new democracies, modeled after the Megalithians’ meritocracy, have been hastily established and are shakily trying to survive. Many areas have fallen back on local headsmen or have simply given up all together, and look to the Megalithians for governance. Law Level Moderate.Despite the best efforts of Clan Megalith to moderate the situation, the trauma inflicted on the Kuragowans tends to break out in lawlessness on occasion. Try as they might, the Megalithans can’t be everywhere at once, and traditional local law organizations can’t always keep apace with the changes ongoing in their global society. Popularity Fanatical. Clan Megalith and anything Megalithian attracts desperate attention from the Kuragowans. Stability Stable.There are outbreaks of unrest, typically against local governments trying to hold on to the vestiges of their power, not doing enough to rebuild, or against unwelcome change. However, everybody recognizes that Clan Megalith is there to stay and they’re MUCH better than the alternative. Category:Kuragow Category:Clan Megalilith Category:Planet Category:System Category:Splugorth Category:Shemarrian Category:Advanced Cultural Notes Category:Enclave